Marussia Racing’s new MR01 finally made its first on-track appearance during a promotional ‘filming’ day at Silverstone, just a few miles from is Banbury base.

The Anglo-Russian team endured a torrid time in its attempts to get the car ready for the third and final group test at Barcelona last week, having skipped the opening session in Jerez to prepare the MR01 for early March, only to fail the mandatory FIA crash tests. Although both Timo Glock and rookie Charles Pic got some miles under their belts in Barcelona last month, it was at the wheel of the 2011-spec car, leaving them preciously short of time in the new machine ahead of its race debut in Melbourne next weekend.

The Silverstone shakedown, part of a promotional event ahead of the car’s departure for the Australian Grand Prix, will provide both team and driver with vital information on the new machine, which has been conceived after a ground-up re-evaluation of the way Marussia designs its racing cars. As such, the car is almost entirely new, with very few carry-over components from last year’s Marussia Virgin MVR-02.

The desire to make a clean break from the previous CFD-only creations presented the design team, led by technical consultant Pat Symonds, with the challenge of going back to basics to produce a solid mechanical package, whilst maintaining an eye towards achieving the incremental performance steps required to move the team forward.

The starting point for the design programme was a consideration of the people and resources available to the Banbury-based team. The former three-base operation has been consolidated into one site, the Marussia Technical Centre in Banbury, bringing the various elements of the business together to form ‘one team’. In particular, the design department and practices now benefit from far greater integration and collaboration. Furthermore, the aerodynamic department has been completely restructured and the aero methodology reinforced, blurring the boundaries between CFD and experimental work in the wind tunnel, as well as enhancing the fidelity of the team’s aero approach.

The technical partnership forged with McLaren Applied Technologies in July of last year has also been influential in the design process and the relationship is starting to yield benefit as the advanced facilities that the Marussia team has access to have been used to prove the correlation process with the MVR-02. It is however early in the relationship and the MR01 will become a beneficiary of the relationship in due course.

The key design priorities were to address previous aerodynamic deficiencies and, mechanically, achieve greater weight saving. At the same time, a lot of the detail of the car has been refined and the design team have been a little more adventurous than before, stepping closer to the engineering boundaries. The car can best be described as a significant evolution of its predecessors. The relationship with McLaren is also evident, as the MR01 is only the second car launched this season, after the Woking giant’s MP4-27, to eschew the stepped nose concept favoured by the rest of the field.

“We are very pleased to be running the new MR01 for the first time this morning,” team principal John Booth admitted, “It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team, but we can now get back on track – literally – and start working towards the first race of the season in Australia next weekend.

“Today is the first of two promotional events, so while the drivers will be able to get a feel for the car, they won’t be able to draw any real conclusions until we start running in anger in Melbourne. Nevertheless, this is an important day for us and we’ll enjoy every minute on track with the new car.”

Glock turned the first laps with the MR01, beginning his third season with the team and providing the all-important element of continuity required to keep moving the package forward. He is joined in 2012 by Frenchman Pic, who embarks on his rookie year in F1, having made the step up from GP2 to replace Belgium’s Jerome d’Ambrosio. Both drivers will get track time with the new car over the next two days, albeit running on demonstration tyres as opposed to the Pirelli P-Zeros that they will use once competition starts in Melbourne.

Last year there were Red Bull and Renault engine supplier to a few races to fight for the title of Formula 1, but even then, the team flirted to Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in order to replace the units in the rear of the racing cars by Mercedes engines. If it has not been known – and a renewed attempt now seems to fail.

This calculates at least Helmut Marko, Red Bull motorsport consultant to “As the Mercedes engine is apparently not have, according to recent statements of the Mercedes executives, we will probably stay at Renault as an engine supplier,” says the former Formula-1 -driver with ‘Sport Bild’ – all the Red-Bull-Renault wins so far achieved with force.
Maybe the racing team to team boss Christian Horner in the coming season will go even one step further and buy more equipment elements in the French: Red Bull would go with KERS in 2011 at the start. Marko: “Either we then use the hybrid system of Renault or we buy one of their suppliers and Magneti Marelli adapt it to himself.”

In the wake of the USF1 calamity, another American group has signalled its intention to race in formula one next year.

Cypher Group confirmed on Thursday that it has submitted a “letter of interest” about obtaining the 13th and final spot on the 2011 grid.

The company said it consists of “experienced F1 engineers, designers and businessmen” whose objective “is to create a successful US-based F1 team”.

Cypher said it “recognises the significant challenges” of building a team in a short amount of time and will therefore “utilise ‘best of breed’ components throughout the car”.

“In support of this strategy Cypher is in contact with established manufacturers of formula one racing cars and components,” the outfit added.

“Our aims are ultimately to be competitive and provide unrivalled access and interaction for our supporters whilst maintaining high standards of integrity and values, alongside creative out of the box thinking.”

Cypher clarified that it has not yet lodged a formal entry to compete next year.

The outfit said it will only do so “should we achieve fully the budget we believe is necessary to do this properly.

“We are not in this to embarrass America, the fans or ourselves.  We simply want to give America the shot it deserves.”

(GMM)

Highlights of the answers given by Malaysian Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel, in his Red Bull Racing Renault, during the post race press conference at Sepang

A victory today set up by an excellent start and one that looked fairly comfortable if you ever can be comfortable in the heat of Malaysia.
Sebastian Vettel: Well, it wasn’t comfortable. I realised straight away that I had a good start and passed Nico, who was alongside, and then got the tow from Mark, so I was able to gain, gain, gain. It is a long sprint down to turn one and I clearly had an advantage over him and then I took the chance I had into turn one. It was quite late, so I just made it and then Mark had a bit of a better exit out of turn two, through turn three and it is very slippery and we both tried to push. We are here to fight ourselves but you should keep the respect and I think we both had the respect for each other. If Mark would have been in my position I am quite sure he would have done the same. After that it was just a question about getting away from our competitors. I could see Mark and I were more or less having the same pace, I think he was a little bit quicker in the beginning. I was trying to save my tyres. It did work, so before the stop I could pull away a little bit and the second stint was extremely long. It is extremely hot here and I didn’t stop sweating. Fortunately, I didn’t run out of drinks in the car. I was trying not to be too extreme in the beginning.  But it is very hot and very physical and at some stage I was hoping for rain, just to get a bit of a cool down. What a day. Yesterday was extremely difficult with the conditions. Today it stayed dry all the time fortunately and we had a magnificent car. The key was to pace yourself, watch your tyres. Bridgestone did a good job bringing two compounds here that worked fairly well. A very good result for us, especially for myself after two races where we didn’t finish where we wanted to be. To come back, thanks to the team. It is very crucial in that moment not to panic and to stay relaxed. It is a long season but getting here on Sunday afternoon having won the race is the best result we can get. On top of that Mark in second place is a big, big plus for the team. A lot of points and I am very, very happy.

How much of a relief was that after the last couple of races?
Sebastian: A big relief. I am sorry. I feel a bit tipsy from the champagne. I think I took a bit too much. I am very pleased. A great day for us and Red Bull. As you said, the first two races we weren’t finishing where we want to be. But a great result. The start for myself was crucial. I had a good start, good initial momentum. I was a bit worried to start on the dirty side as the right side is the clean side but I was patient really trying to control the wheelspin and didn’t ask for too much throttle too early. That was the key to get past Nico and then run with big tow down to turn one. It is a long sprint. It is one of the longest sprints to turn one behind Mark and I was able to catch him and outbrake him into turn one. It was quite late. Big respect for Mark. I think he would have done the same thing. But he could have behaved differently down into turn one and turn two but that was good. The fight carried on down to turn four. It was extremely slippery for both of us and it was a question who is braking first and if the car stops. Obviously going out of qualifying it was wet, but usually you are having a completely different reference point. Now you start with the car fully filled and it is a bit of an adventure to find your braking point. From then onwards I could see we were one-two which was crucial, so we were able to pull a gap to Nico. But Mark didn’t stop pushing, so I had to push myself. I was trying to look after my tyres in the first stint especially with the soft compound. I was quite pleased that they held together. I was trying to save them a little bit for the end of the stint and then the hard tyres were quite solid and you could push all the way through. Mark again did not stop pushing. He came a bit closer and I could see he was doing faster lap times than I was, so I was just trying to control the gap. It was quite difficult with the lapped cars as they were coming quicker than you thought. Over the team radio I got the call that at some stage we were about 10 seconds quicker a lap compared to them which is funny as two laps before you had nobody there and then all of a sudden you catch them up. But in the end of the day very, very pleased with the result. I think we did a very good job yesterday as a team. Mark was the poker face yesterday and got the pole but today to finish one-two is fantastic especially for myself after the first two races, so I am very happy.

Mark held onto you pretty much in the opening stages but in the second stint he came back at you. Was that all to do with the traffic?
Sebastian: When you are in the lead and you have got a couple of seconds on your side then you don’t try to do anything stupid in traffic. For the guys I think in the slower cars it is a pretty difficult job to do as three corners before they had no-one in their mirror and all of sudden they had someone behind, so sometimes you find yourself in a bit of an adventure trying to get past. But they did a very good job. Sometimes you lose a little bit more depending on where you have to pass them and how quickly they move over but it was all fairly in control. On the primes in the beginning Mark was a bit faster. I was just trying to react to his times and then the gaps are sometimes shrinking, sometimes I am gaining a bit again. I was trying to bring the car home at some stage. I was hoping for rain as it was quite hot. I think we all lost quite a bit of water, so that is why after two sips of champagne you might feel a bit dizzy. I am still young. I am not used to this.

It only took you one race to wipe out the gap to Massa and Alonso, who were quite far ahead. Were you expecting to do that so quickly?
Sebastian: Yeah, that’s what people are saying. We are just here to race. Yes, as I said before, obviously there’s always a lot of talking and things happening. Yes, we didn’t have great races, the first and second one, we didn’t do the best job we could, but that’s life. You build racing cars to go as quickly as you can. They’re built on the limit and sometimes something breaks. Obviously it depends when. When it happens on Friday, no one cares but if it happens on Sunday, obviously everyone is highlighting the issue and blaming you for poor reliability. We are a team, we stick together in good and bad times. We win and lose together and it’s not like in football where you probably change the coach after you’ve lost two times. So we carry on and we’ve proven that we can come back. I don’t know the ranking in the championship now but I think today we scored 25 points. I saw that Fernando (Alonso) had an engine failure, I think, on the last lap. As far as I remember, our gap was about 25 points, so it’s not anymore. I think that’s a good thing. If anything, it shows how quickly it can turn around. It’s a long, long season. We still have 16 races to go which is a lot, so we are here to do our best and we want to fight for the championship, both of us, and for the team, so at the end of the day, finishing first and second was good points for the team and good points for ourselves, so I think we’re in a much better position now than probably on Friday or this morning.

Last year you won the third race, and this year you’ve now won the third race. Are you on the same schedule like last year, to carry on fighting for the championship?
Sebastian: I need to remember where we finished the fourth race and the fifth race. Last year is last year, this year is this year. I think we are always looking ahead but you can live in history or you can live in the future, but I think the best thing is to live in the now and live the moment, so we have to focus on what is happening now. From here, first of all we go back and then kind of come back to Asia to go to China. The cars go more or less straight there, but there’s a bit of break between races. And hopefully we will have the same result in China as last year, that’s all I can say. Every race is a new challenge. Into the first race, I think we were pretty quick. Ferrari was very quick and in Melbourne all of a sudden we were kind of back. They weren’t really that far behind in Bahrain but it just shows that a slightly different kind of track, a different layout… you know, we’ve seen here Mercedes was very strong, so we probably do have a little bit of an advantage at the time, but we have to work hard and focus on what is happening now to maintain the good performance and then we go race by race. There may be times when we will struggle as well and we won’t be able to win. We might only get fourth or fifth but we have to make sure we finish fourth or fifth then, and not put the car in the wall or finish eighth or out of the points. I think that’s how it should work.

After humid weather on Wednesday, today there were better conditions that allowed the racing cars to run through the day with dry tires.  Sebastien completed a good number of laps.  Let’s hope the rain forecast for tomorrow is wrong.  The agenda of the Toro Rosso team evaluated some aerodynamic components, tried out several of them and, as the rest of the teams, tested those set-ups with different fuel loads.

The Swiss pilot rolled out three components brought by Bridgestone –the super soft, soft and hard.

“I’m very happy with the last two days and, even though the rain is not an ideal condition, yesterday’s meant we could try out the rain tires,” said Sebastien Buemi.  “Today, we have been able to lap many times with dry weather, and the car is reliable.  We approached several topics and ran with diverse fuel loads, so we are starting to obtain a better understanding of STR5 overall.”

At 9:30 the single-seaters began to go out to the racetrack of the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, during the first day of the 2010 season’s second official unveiling.

In the morning, Fernando Alonso, started to try out the new parts that arrived all the way from Maranello, with the intention to verify mechanical elements performance, for next week when they expect to have new aerodynamic components.

The rain did not miss the appointment.  Even though it was not intense, it certainly was annoying enough during the performance checkup of the F1 racing cars.  When the rain pour began, all the single-seaters had to be taken to the boxes to make wet condition adjustments.

By the time the cars started to go out again, it was almost 10 AM and Nico Rosberg, with his Mercedes GP, was the leader of the first timesheets, even though it was not significant because he was one of the few who made some time before the rain began to fall.  Later on, the pilots were around 12 seconds higher.

Time went by without any interesting event.  In the circuit were: Ferrari, Mercedes GP, Williams, Red Bull, Force India, Toro Rosso and BMW Sauber. The Virgin VR01 must not be prepared for rain for it did not make any lap.

At midday the rain was heavier and the only thing that caught our eye were again the hard-working mechanics running to cover the diffusers to avoid photographers from pleasing us with the latest in aerodynamic novelties.

It was almost 12PM and nothing interesting happened.  There were almost no single-seaters in the racetrack and everything was extremely quiet.  My laptop (mini) seemed to say, “it’s enough for today.”  “I think a diving suit would be a good idea,” I thought and looked for shelter waiting for the rain to stop.

The third day began with the “variable” of watching Fernando Alonso drive the F10 for the first time.  This morning, the Valencian Community Ricardo Tormo Circuit was at a complete standstill.  A crowd of fans who gathered to see Alonso made long lines of cars in the A-3 freeway, a long distance the exit that leads to the Circuit.

While regularly it takes around 3-4 minutes to access the Circuit, today it almost took 20 minutes.  The expectation aroused by the pilot from Asturias was unbelievable.  If yesterday we spoke of 7000 people who attended the Circuit, today the amount was estimated in more than 20.000 people present.

Today has been a complete day.  It was possible to watch the three Formula One Spanish pilots in the racetrack: Fernando Alonso , Pedro Martinez de la Rosa and Jaime Alguersuari.  In addition, to the current champion, Jeson Button and Michael Schumacher who also rolled out.

The debuting racing cars start at 10 AM on the dot.  The single-seaters start to roll out and we see Fernando Alonso passing by with his new blue helmet (Asturias flag); he is ahead.  Nonetheless, the “first fright“ came with De la Rosa when unexplainably he stopped on his tracks, just when he was marking the best time.  The marshals showed a red flag.  Up to that moment, Fernando had just made one reconnaissance lap.

The march starts again and the pilots start to roll their cars.  Fernando Alonso makes the best time, stopping the chronometer at 1:12.160.  After that, he reduced his time on five consecutive laps.  Just as well it’s the first time he rolls with this car.  How many hours would he have made in the simulator?

Behind the pilot from Asturias, Schumacher marks his best score; he’s fourth in the time table and goes to boxes.  The difference between Alonso and Schumacher is of 1.007.  There was a morbid fascination in the racetrack.

Subsequent to his stop, Schumacher starts to lower his times.  De la Rosa still has the second best time; the BMW C29 is performing well.  It looks solid in the track.

In this moment, the current champion, Jeson Button appears.  He makes his official debut with McLaren.  During his first laps his times were far away from the best (1:18.420), six seconds behind the Spaniard.  The British is still in adaptation period with his new single-seater.

A great surprise comes when the pilot from Asturias improves the time achieved by Felipe Massa, yesterday.  The Brazilian made 1:11.722 and Alonso pulled off 1:11.709, in that same lap.  Schumacher also lowers his time, remaining at 7 tenths of the Spaniard, and Pedro marks a best lap, too  Aren’t this petty quarrels?

At any rate, the show was in the racetrack.  The F10 seems to please the pilot from Asturias, who in his first contact had the satisfaction of making a debut record, but subsequent to his return to the boxes he lowered again his best time.  When a little more of two hours of testing had elapsed, he stopped the chronometer at 1:11.599.

The third Spaniard in the racetrack, Jaime Alguersuari, rolled with consistent times all morning long.  He was ahead of Button, specifically, fourth place in the time table.  However, the most significant aspect is that his times are better than those of his team-mate, Sebastian Buemi.

The last stage of the morning session starts to stabilize.  Alonso starts to advance in 1:12 lows, a great rhythm.  While “Schumi” and De la Rosa follow him at half a second.  Everything seemed to indicate that the session would end in that monotony, but the pilot from Asturias returns with all his might; he wants to see the F10 potential and stopped the chronometer at 1:11.600.  We were all surprised, but a bit later, 3 minutes later, he makes 1:11.470; he lowers his time again.  Wasn’t it supposed to be his contact with the F10?

At 2 o’clock the time came to stop and have lunch.

Morning times:
1º. Fernando Alonso 1:11.470
2º. Pedro de la Rosa 1:12.094
3º. Michael Schumacher 1:12.438
4º. Jaime Alguersuari 1:12.576
5º. Jenson Button 1:13.783
6º. Nico Hulkenberg 1:14.410
7º. Vitaly Petrov 1:14.707

Subsequent to the first two testing days where the single-seaters were seen, there are aerodynamic solutions for all tastes.  During these days, it has been surprising how the engineers have hurried to cover the diffusers when the single-seaters enter the boxes.  Funny, because some moments later they’re back in the racetrack and it would be difficult to run after the car to cover the diffuser, wouldn’t it?

Leaving the “funny” note aside, let’s take a look at how the aerodynamics of the seven scuderias that have been presented in these official tests at the Valencian circuit have evolved.  I must say that it’s not an analysis of the aerodynamics, but of some visible changes.

FERRARI

The engineers of the Italian ‘scuderia’ chose to change the nose and wing in a significant way.

The nose seems to be lower than last year’s increasing its descending curve, with a softened V form (below, in the photo gallery you can enlarge the picture to see in more detail.)

For 2010, Ferrari has initially chosen to include a sharp fin, similar to the one that became fashionable with Red Bull, last year.

MERCEDES

No doubt, one of the cars with more changes, if we take the Brawn GP as reference.  The nose is even lower than Ferrari’s, with less tip and more rounded.  Very similar to last year’s well-known Red Bull design.

Contrary to the rest of the scuderias, they have selected a short tail behind the air inlet over the pilot (engine’s lid).

RENAULT

Renault does not contribute with any extraordinary changes in its front, following its aerodynamic philosophy of a robust appearance, “rough” nose. It has a descending angle, but lacks the famous V shape that can be seen in other single-seaters.

Just as it finished last season, Renault uses a great sharp fin as engine lid.

MCLAREN

The MP-4 follows an evolution from its previous model, without the V shape used by Ferrari or Mercedes.  Its nose is rounded and seems higher than others,’ even though, the front double wing is wider and have joined the “sharp fin” fashion.

Peculiar interpretation of the sharp fin, since it almost finishes in the rear aileron.  However, we’re still investigating the camera options on the single-seaters.  Note that Ferrari, McLaren and Williams “have an integrated periscope.”

WILLIAMS

Aside from the periscope, its possible the single-seater with less changes of all that we have seen (a priori).  The characteristics that stand out the most are a very flat and high nose, together with a front double aileron.

Hopefully, tomorrow we’ll go to another place where we can see the rear of the car, because we’ve heard that’s the part of the single-seater with more changes.

BMW SAUBER

As you can appreciate in this photograph, aerodynamically it seems like a completely new single-seater.  A nose with little drop, and a long but mostly high “sharp fin.”

When I say ‘high’, I mean that it does not fall as other scuderias’, but it’s rather a great extension of the air intake.

TORO ROSSO

The new Toro Rosso’s nose follows the trend of its previous model with only some slight touches.  However, the rear section is the one that has had the most evolution in 2010.

The sharp fin is an innovation joining with the rear aileron of the racing car.  The idea is to transfer the most quantity of air possible to the rear aileron.  Is that a solution to get extra grip?

Awaiting to see “the revolutionary USF1″ that according to the North Americans breaks with anything ever seen, this year the scuderias have changed a great deal the exterior of the racing cars.  Enjoy the gallery.

Although the single-seated will not be seen until next week, the Grand Prix Mercedes motor-racing team introduced today, at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart, its two official pilots for the next season: Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, both from Germany.

Before the media and a great crowd, the car that was used last year by the British Jenson Button, under the Brawn GP ‘Scuderia” was displayed, but with the silver color that the racing-team will show during the 2010 campaign.

“The German Formula One ‘Scuderia’ is now ready.  A bit of German pride is legitimate,” declared Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Daimler, when the design of the new silver racing cars was presented at the Mercedes Museum at Stuttgart.

The goal of the motor-racing team is clear: the World Championship title.  However, Zetsche chose not to risk himself and stated that the long-term targets do not necessarily have to be complied with in the first season.

“We have a clearly defined goal which is to become World Champions, but that doesn’t mean this has to happen during the first year,” Zetsche said.

“We’re a new team.  Give us some time,” he added.

Next week, the first official tests will take place at the Ricardo Tormo de Cheste circuit (Valencia, which will also be the site where the definitive single-seated named ‘MGP W01′ will be presented for the first time.  On the other hand, during the team’s official introduction, Schumacher, received most of the attention and declared: “Last summer, I already experienced how people received me, and frankly their reaction was a real surprise for me.

“It’s exciting and gives me a very warm feeling.  I’m very grateful with my fans.  Their reaction is a great motivation and driving force for me,” he added.

On his part, Rosberg said he’s looking forward to participate and is very happy.  Driving a Mercedes is a dream come true for him..  “It’s clear that this is a very, very special thing; a dream come true.  I’m looking forward to trying the new car out, and to work with people like Norbert (Haug), Ross (Brawn) and Nick (Fry), and to have Michael (Schumacher) as team-mate; that’s big.  It’s going to be a great season,” pronounced the second German of the racing-car team.

The thing being that Mercedes constitutes an only-German team.  The excitement was quite visible in Dieter Zetsche’s face.

Jeff Gordon is a famous American race car driver who was born in 1971 in Vallejo, California. He has won the Nascar Winston Cup four times, and he drives car #24 for Hendrick Motorsports. As of this writing, one of his most prominent sponsors is DuPont. Jeff Gordon began racing when he was only five years of age. He loved to race cars, and his family was supportive of him. His family actually relocated primarily because they wanted Jeff to be in a location where he could better harness his racing skills. While he was still a minor, Jeff had already won a number of races and was given the USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year award.

After this, Gordon went on to win the USAC Midget title, and by 1991, he had gained the USAC Silver Crown. He broke a record by being the youngest person to ever capture the title. He went to the Busch Series after this, and had a large number of victories. Gordon crashed his car during the the Hooters 500 race in Atlanta in 1992, and this caused him to be placed in the 31st position. Jeff Gordon was one of many young racers who would be placed on high quality teams early in their careers. The success of Jeff Gordon allowed a younger generation of racers to begin competing in Nascar.

Many critics felt that Gordon was not ready to compete at the professional level because of his habit of racing cars so hard that he crashed them. However, Gordon proved them all wrong during the 1994 season, were he emerged victorious in the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which was a long and difficult race. Gordon would also go on to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400. In 1995 he won what would become the first of four Winston Cup Championships. Jeff Gordon is also famous for rising up against the legendary Dale Earnhardt, and he has become a fan favorite.

Many people consider Jeff Gordon to be one of the greatest drivers in Nascar because he achieved so much at a very young age. Even at 35 years of age, Jeff Gordon has successfully won 75 races, which is just one victory behind Dale Earnhardt. Jeff Gordon is also notable for making Nascar a popular sport with mainstream audiences. For a long time, the sport was only regulated to the south, but Jeff Gordon has allowed it to reach a high level of popularity due to advertising and his skills with the media.

Author is a contributer for an auto racing blog at AutoRacingReporter.com. Find more auto racing websites at SportsWebsiteDirectory.com. Purchase sports website marketing at SportsWebsiteMarketing.com.